Cursed Creatures
by PD Transformed
Summary: Something is happening in Zoro's once peaceful town: people are disappearing! And these strange animals that are somehow able to communicate with Zoro alone have started appearing. Now, Zoro must figure out how to get them back to normal. OCxZ SxZ LxN RxF
1. Welcome Home

**Chapter 1 – Welcome Home**

Zoro took out the keys to his apartment. He heard eager scratching on the other side of the door. "Hang on, hang on, I'm coming." He balanced the small white box under his arm as he finally managed to pry the door open while keeping his foot in the gap between the door and its frame so none of his pets could get out.

"Hey guys. I'm home, and I brought you a new friend." He closed the door and set the box on the ground. A young puppy started eagerly sniffing and scratching at the box.

"Oi, Luffy, give him some space." A dark brown hamster eagerly ran between his running wheel and bowl of food. "Ok, Usopp I'll let you out, but you know Luffy will want to play."

Zoro picked up a clear plastic ball and placed Usopp inside. He walked back over to the box. "Robin, Nami, c'mere I want you to see your new friend."

"I found him on the street." Zoro proclaimed as he lifted the lid. He looked affectionately at the small dirty bundle. "What should I name him?"

"T-T—T-T-TWEET! SQUAWK!"

"Chopper calm down, you won't get eaten. Well, what do you think Nami?" The small red-haired puppy trotted over and sniffed the new comer. She wagged her tail in exception. Zoro smiled, "How about you Robin? You like him?" Robin sniffed him as well. She picked him up by the scruff as if he was her own kitten and started cleaning him. "You're such a good girl Robin."

RING......RING......

Zoro ran to get the phone.

"So, where you from?" Asked the little black haired puppy dubbed 'Luffy.'

"Mew—" The kitten was getting nervous from all the excitement.

"Wha? You can't talk? What a weirdo!" Luffy commented idiotically as he poked at the newcomer.

Usopp rolled over in his ball and bumped Luffy out of the way.

"Ignore that thing. He's got nothing but energy and an appetite. Let me introduce you: The redheaded Yorkie puppy is Nami; the black lab puppy is Luffy; the cat currently licking your head is Robin, she's kind of like the mother of us all. Anyway, the bird up there is Chopper, and I am the ever fabulous Usopp-sama!"

"Mrew?"

Usopp sighed, "Hmm, that's weird Zoro usually only picks up cursed 'pets.' I guess you're just an ordinary cat...oh well, welcome to our family!"

"Yes! Yes! Zoro has made this place a happy home for all of us." Chopper squawked.

"So? The only reason he takes us under his wing is to help us, you know that." Nami commented.

"Don't be so cranky Nami! Zoro loves us!" Luffy commented licking the small puppy on the side of her face.

Zoro walked in and promptly took the kitten from Robin, "Thank you Robin. Now what shall I call you?" He looked at the adorable little blonde kitten. He stared at the kitten. His wireless glasses were slipping off his nose. Sanji, intrigued, used his paw and pushed them back up. Zoro smiled and chuckled to himself, "That's it, I will call you...Sanji. Welcome to our home, Sanji. I'll be your new daddy: Zoro." The other pets rolled their eyes.

Sanji tilted his head, "Zowro?"

Zoro opened his eyes wide, and then smiled sadly, "You can speak?...sigh...I never seem to pick up any normal pets do I. Don't worry, I'm working on how to break the curse." Zoro had been assigned a special task. The number of missing persons had been increasing at a drastic rate. The missing persons were never found and no bodies were ever uncovered either.

Zoro wasn't sure how, but the committee he worked for had discovered that these talking animals had something to do with all the missing persons reports. And it was his job to try and find a way to reverse the effects.

riiiiiiiiiiiiing....... riiiiiiiiiiiiing

He cradled the cat in one arm to answer his cell phone.

"Hai. Yes sir. Yes sir. Ye—" Zoro gasped into the phone a little bit, "Yes sir, I'll be there right away. Well, guys. I've got to go. So you behave yourselves." Sanji started to walk after him, but Zoro picked him up and placed him back inside.

"You need to stay here Sanji. I have to go to work now."

"Zowro..." Sanji meowed.

"Listen, I'll be back in time for dinner ok?" He smiled at Sanji, but Sanji wouldn't have any of it. He wanted to stay with Zoro. He used his claws to cling onto Zoro's shoes sat defiantly upon one of them. "Sanji," Zoro said in a strict fatherly tone, "You NEED to stay here."

Robin picked Sanji up and pried him from Zoro's new leather shoes, shoes that now had scratches on them. "Great." He sighed. He looked at his watch and ran out the door.

Usopp sighed from inside his plastic ball. "You've really got to listen to him better. He really is working his ass off to help get us back to normal."

"Zowro..." Sanji mewed sadly.

"Ohh, c'mon now. Don't be sad. He'll come back!" Chopper encouraged from his perch in the wire cage that hung in the corner of a simple white room, right next to a thriving fichus plant.

Sanji started to scratch at the door wanting to chase after the big man with the kind hands.

Robin smiled a cat smile, as she was all knowing. "I know you want the kind man back, but until then, why don't you make yourself at home."

Sanji looked at her and then back up at the door. He was going to sit in front of that door until those hands came back.

**Author's Note**

Thank you flyfloyd, sorry 'bout the mix up ^^;


	2. Clingy Much?

**Chapter 2 - Clingy Much?**

Sanji kept his little kitty promise. And sure enough, he was still sitting there when Zoro came home. Or rather, he was now lying a little off to one side of the threshold. It had been about 2:50 when Zoro left. It was now 11:23. Luffy and Nami were cuddled together in a little pet bed and Usopp swayed back and forth inside his plastic ball. Robin was curled up on the armchair and Chopper was fast asleep inside his cage.

The lock clicked but no one stirred. the door creaked open and Zoro tiptoed inside his little abode.

"Mrow." Robin had woken up at the sound of a possible intruder.

"It's ok Robin, it's only me." Zoro whispered as he patted Robin on the head and she purred. She truly loved her master, and his kindness was endless towards them. She understood why Sanji was so desperate to see Zoro. She, too, loved the kind hands of her master.

Then, as if a switch had been flipped, all the animals started waking up. They all greeted him with yips, squeaks, squawks, and gentle purrs.

Sanji was the last one to wake up, but when he did, he was under Zoro's feet faster than you could blink. He meowed happily and started weaving between Zoro's legs. Zoro picked Sanji up and kissed him on the head.

"Well aren't you a cutie." Zoro rubbed noses with Sanji and went to place him back on the ground. Sanji mewed in protest. "What's the matter?"

"Mew!"

"Do you want to come upstairs with me?"

"Mrew!"

"Alrighty then, let's go." Zoro put a sheet over choppers cage, put Usopp back into his little habitat, and turned on an electric blanket to help keep the others warm during the night. All the while, he had the tiny golden kitten snuggled in his arms.

Sanji was happy for the first time in a long while. Zoro undressed and put on a fresh pair of boxers and a white tank. He climbed into bed with the kitten and placed it on the pillow next to his head. Sanji promptly got back up and made himself comfortable in the crook of Zoro's neck

"If you get squished, it's not my fault."

Sanji started purring and Zoro felt no more need to chastise the little guy for his own mistake.

* * *

That night, Sanji had a strange dream. He was like the man with the kind hands, but he looked different, taller, but not as strong as Zoro was. He had golden hair that covered one eye, and curly eyebrows.

He was cooking in a big fancy kitchen in a pristine, white apron and a tall white hat. There was another man with an even taller white hat. It interested and bemused Sanji in more than one way.

He got a sharp kick to the head.

"Get to work little eggplant!"

Sanji could feel something rising in his throat, he wasn't sure what, but it was getting bigger and bigger, until it freed itself from his throat, "Don't call me little eggplant! I'm 21 you old fart!" Whatever just came out of his mouth felt good. It felt really good. Sanji wanted to do it again, but he wasn't sure how to until someone else spoke to him first, "Oi, Sanji, take this to table twelve."

Then, it happened again, "Nani!? I'm head chef of this restaurant and you expect me to wait tables?"

"Just do it you pussy." The man shoved the hot tray into Sanji's arms and walked away. Sanji, slightly disgruntled and not entirely sure what the whole exchange was about, walked out of the kitchen and into a busy room filled with loud chatter and the occasional burst of laughter.

Sanji looked down at the tray and saw strange markings on a folded piece of paper. 'Maybe if I match these symbols, I can find this 'table 12' that mean man was talking about.'

Sanji eventually found table 12, only to see someone familiar sitting at it. It was the big man with the kind hands! Sanji dropped the tray and leapt into the arms of the kind man.

"Zoro..." He curled into the broad chest of the kind man and nuzzled his neck.

"O-Oi, what are you doing? Sanji, no one's supposed to know! You said so yourself." Zoro whispered ferociously.

"I've missed you Zoro, everyone here is so mean." Sanji looked up at his beet red master with a pouty lip and teary eyes.

"SANJI!" A big hand pulled him by the back of his neck, away from his Zoro. As he was being dragged, everything got bigger and bigger. The hand on the back of his neck shifted and was now grabbing him by his scruff. Zoro was getting smaller in the distance and he felt like he was being crushed, literally. He felt an immense weight crushing him and he let out a loud wail.

Sanji woke up from his nightmare to find himself being squashed underneath Zoro's mammoth shoulder. He let out another loud wail, but Zoro continued to snore.

'Alright. Fine. I'll just get out myself.' Sanji thought, determination glimmered in his little blue eyes. He extended his claws and...

"GUAH!" Zoro flew into a sitting position and was babying his sore shoulder. "Sanji, I can't believe you!" Sanji drew himself up into a sitting position as well. He looked up at Zoro with slight frustration, after all, Zoro HAD been squishing him, but he forgave the swordsman and climbed into his lap, purring.

"You little tyrant." Sanji mewed happily. "Well, I suppose you've learned your lesson." Zoro glanced at the clock, the red numbers were out of focus, but Zoro still managed to read them: 4:52 am.

"I might as well stay up. Thanks a lot Sanji." Zoro put Sanji back on the pillow and got out of bed. Sanji felt so lonely in the big bed all by himself. He jumped down and stealthily followed Zoro into the bathroom where he was about to take his shower.

Zoro was in the process of taking of his tank top when he heard pitiful mewls and desperate scratching from the other side of the door. Zoro opened it and Sanji's woeful whimpers turned into perky mews when he saw Zoro's bleary expression staring down at him.

"You have a serious issue of separation anxiety." Zoro moved aside and let the little guy waddle in. The tip of his little tail twitching happily now that he was in the company of his beloved master. Zoro started the water and Sanji jumped. Hissing and spitting as steam rose towards the ceiling.

As Zoro started to step inside the shower, Sanji began to protest. He didn't want his master to be anywhere near that roaring and hissing monster. Zoro rolled his eyes and stepped inside regardless.

Sanji stared at him fearfully, _'Oh no! My master! That vicious heat monster is going to hurt him! I'll save you Zoro!'_ And with that, Sanji tried to jump onto the rim of the tub. He had his front paws hooked, but the rest of him dangled helplessly. Sanji used his strong back legs to push his little kitty bum over the edge and into the enormous basin that was slowly filling with warm soapy water. The jets of hot water that managed to get around Zoro's rather large frame, bombarded Sanji's little kitty body. He attempted to get over to Zoro, but his paws slid out from under him. It was then that Zoro started to sing in a lovely tenor voice.

_Like a bird without wings_

_That longs to be flying,_

_Like a motherless child_

_Left lonely and crying._

Sanji managed to stable himself in a sitting position. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of excess water, before looking up at Zoro in awe.

_Like a song without words,_

_Like a world without music,_

_I wouldn't know what to do_

_I'd be lost without you_

_Watchin' over me._

Sanji was transfixed. He had heard this song before...but where. Zoro's singing voice sounded so familiar...

**Flashback**

Sanji stood outside one of his favorite clubs finishing up his smoke. Happy couples passed him, laughing and making idle chit-chat, not even noticing him. He crushed the spent butt and casually strode back inside. He sat down at the bar in and ordered a dry martini. Sanji stared down at his fingers, waiting anxiously for his drink to arrive. After a stressful day at work, a few drinks were needed to blow it all over. Whatever song someone had been playing ended and new talent had gotten up on stage. The soft strumming of a guitar could be heard and about half of the bar went silent. Then, a voice carried out over the remaining murmur of voices.

_Like a bird without wings_

_That longs to be flying,_

_Like a motherless child_

_Left lonely and crying._

Sanji turned his head, trying to catch a glimpse of whoever it was that was sitting on stage, singing his heart out.

_Like a song without words,_

_Like a world without music,_

Sanji picked up his drink and spun around on his bar stool, curiosity overpowering his will.

_I wouldn't know what to do_

_I'd be lost without you_

_Watchin' over me._

Sanji leaned to the left a little, a rather large man with a mouth filled with cigars and his beau were blocking Sanji's view of the singer.

_I get so lonely, when you're away_

_I count every moment, I wait every day,_

Sanji saw a green mop of hair moving in time to the beat. Then, a tanned face with closed eyes came into view. Sanji shamelessly took in the man's appearance.

_Until you're home again_

Sanji leaned a little more. Trying to see more of this interesting figure.

_And hug me so tight_

He was almost there, just a little more and the whole body would be in view.

_That's when I know_

A little more...

_Everything is all ri—_

**CRASH**

Sanji fell onto the floor, spilling his drink onto the floor and breaking the glass. Only whehn he had gotten up and was brushing himself off did he notice that the green haired man was looking at him, a smirk played at the corners of his lips, but he went back to playing his guitar and start singing with that hypnotic voice.

**End Flashback**

Sanji blinked. The once warm water had turned cold on his fur, he shivered. He mewed pathetically, finally getting Zoro's attention. Zoro's body sagged at the realization: his cat had gotten in the shower with him and was now soaking wet. After rinsing the soap from his eyes, Zoro turned off the water and stepped out ff the shower. He grabbed a small hand towel and lifted Sanji out.

After a series of protesting squawks and much wriggling, Sanji managed to poke his head through the towel and stare into the loving eyes of his master. A smirk threatened to break out on his face, and the flashback was relived.

'_What...is this?'_


	3. Mine Alone

**My first update this holiday break! Took me long enough huh? I promise I won't delay the chapters this long ever again! I feel reeeally bad about making you guys wait for an update, especially cause this ones so **short** D: Thank you for sticking with this story (and me -.-;)**

**Chapter 3 - Mine Alone  
**

Zoro carried Sanji out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, placing the kitten on his bed while he strode over to his closet to pick out new clothes for a long day of work, but for the time being, boxers and an undershirt would do just fine.

"Well, Sanji. Let's go get breakfast." Zoro carried Sanji downstairs and into the living room, instantly getting mauled by a hungry lab puppy.

"Oi Luffy! Chill, I'm about to make breakfast." Luffy started whimpering and let out a few dissatisfied and, what could only be described as whiney, barks.

"You aren't starving to death. Go wake up the others and tell them that breakfast will be ready in about half an hour." Luffy whined again, and, reluctantly, returned to the living room with his tail dragging behind him. Zoro put Sanji on the ground and started towards the kitchen, but was soon being followed by the clingy feline.

"Sanji, why don't you go make friends with the other guys huh?"

"Zowro…ou..me." Zoro looked down at Sanji, confused. Sanji knit his brow, trying to figure out how to explain the dream he'd had.

"What do you mean Sanji?"

"Sa-si know…" Sanji flexed and extended his paws with frustration. He wanted to tell Zoro about the dream he'd had, but he couldn't make the right sounds. _'Maybe the others can help me.'_ And with that thought in mind, Sanji ran off to join the other pets in the living room, leaving behind a very confused Zoro.

Sanji peeked into the living room, like an actor checking the audience before going out on stage. Sanji withdrew and then walked into the living room, only to be knocked back on his ass by a black blur.

"I'm huuuu~ungryyyy!" A weepy-eyed Luffy had him pinned to the floor, whining and complaining about his empty stomach.

"Geh-ou-ee." Sanji had _meant_ to say 'get off of me,' but it came out as more of an unintelligible groan.

"Luffy! Get off! You're three times his size!" Nami stood up and pulled the puppy away by the ear.

"Kitten-kun, come sit by me." Sanji got up, shook his head, and trotted over to Robin, sitting down in front of her. "Can't you speak?" Sanji shook his head, no. "Well then, I suppose its time for you to learn how then." Nami intervened, hopping over from where she had been scolding Luffy and repositioned herself on the floor in front of Sanji.

"Try saying your name." She encouraged. Sanji looked up at her blankly. "Can you say 'Sanji'?"

"Sah…Sah-si."

"San-ji." Nami repeated.

"Sah-nn-zi."

"No no, San-**ji**." Nami made the 'j' sound. And Sanji repeated it, incorrectly.

"Oh dear, this may take a while." Sanji stared up at her, eyes big and clueless.

* * *

30 minutes later

* * *

Zoro scooped the food into separate bowls and placed them on the floor. He cupped his hand around his mouth and was about to call out to the gang, but found no need for that for he was soon joined by all of the animals, sans Usopp and Chopper as they were still in their cages. Luffy had been the first to enter, his nose leading him to his big plastic bowl filled with an American breakfast of ham, eggs, sausage, bacon, and toast.

Zoro left the four to eat while he went to feed Usopp and Chopper individually. He had learned long ago not to let these two out of their cages during mealtime. The first time—and the _only_ time—he had made that stupid mistake had ended with Luffy practically swallowing Usopp and Chopper whole.

He fed the two and closed their cages, returning to the kitchen to find it bare of any food, including his own.

"Luffy!" Luffy was sitting happily on the floor, looking innocent as always.

"Nani, Zoro?" He said, licking his chops.

"You ate my breakfast!"

Luffy whined, "But it was gonna get co~old!" Which, to the average ear, would have just sounded like a series whimpers and whines.

"No it wasn't!" Zoro sighed and put the empty dishes in the sink for later. He glanced at the clock: 5:52 am.

"I should get ready for work…" Zoro sighed and trudged upstairs to get his black slacks, royal blue button down shirt, and black leather belt. Sanji had witnessed the entire exchange, slightly angered at the selfish pup. Zoro had spent a decent amount of time making them breakfast and the ungrateful mutt ate it all. Sanji walked up to Luffy and extended his claws and made contact. Sanji sniffed huffily when Luffy starting whining about a sore bum.

Sanji walked over to the wooden chair and climbed up the rungs that held the legs together. He sat on the seat, trying to figure out where to go from there. _'This may be harder than I thought, but it'll be worth it.'_

After Zoro had shaved, brushed his teeth, and dressed, he came downstairs to a sloppily prepared breakfast with a tired looking kitten collapsed next to it. Zoro was, though not without tremendous surprise, touched by what Sanji had done for him. It wasn't much and there were hairs here and there, but none of the other pets had done anything of the sort for him in the past. Zoro patted the little kitten's head and started to pick out the hairs, but was interrupted by the vibration of his cell phone.

"Hello?" Zoro smiled at the familiar voice. He picked Sanji up and placed him on the floor. The caller commented on the time and questioned why he was up so early, to which Zoro responded with an explanation of yesterday's and last night's events. Zoro took the food, now hair free, upstairs and into his bedroom where he sat on the bed and continued to speak to the unidentified caller, outside of the pets hearing range.

Sanji skillfully maneuvered his way off the counter, returned to the living room, and walked over to Robin, upset by the interruption of Zoro's praise towards his hard efforts. "Who?" Sanji asked. Robin had managed to teach him how to ask simple questions as well as simple answers, but that was as far as they got after Sanji was finally able to pronounce his name.

"Probably a man from Zoro's work." Robin answered, yawing and laying her head down, ready for a morning nap.

"Don't be silly Robin, why would he be so excited about some guy from work. It was obviously his boyfriend again."

'_Boyfriend.' _The word made Sanji angry.

"I don't like him…he gives off a bad aura." Luffy commented, keeping a good distance away from Sanji and his sharp claws.

"Yeah! I don't like him either!" Chopper agreed from his perch in the cage.

"You guys are just saying that cause you're jealous of the attention Zoro gives him." Nami commented, as she lay down on the pet bed only to be accompanied by a much calmer Luffy a few moments later.

"I have nothing to be jealous of." Luffy said seriously, licking the side of Nami's face several times before rubbing noses with her.

"Hmm…" Was all she said in reply, but not without a slight smile.

Usopp snickered behind one of his paws before looking down at Sanji through the wiring of his cage. "Don't worry, Ben is a good guy." Sanji stared up at Usopp, not recognizing the name of whom he was talking about. "Ben Tomaselli is Zoro's boyfriend."

Sanji could feel his fur start to puff up with annoyance. Even though Sanji had only been with him for about 12 hours, Zoro was _his_ and no one else's. Who was this 'boyfriend' that the others spoke of. Robin noticed Sanji's change in demeanor and smiled knowingly down at him. _'If only he remembered like the rest of us do.'_

The door to the upstairs bedroom squeaked open and Zoro ran down the stairs, a small, happy smile was etched into his face as he grabbed his coat off of the rack. "Alright gang, I'm headed out for today. Behave yourselves." He walked over and gave each of the pets a brief display of special attention, lingering a little longer when he was with Sanji. Sanji looked up at Zoro with big sad eyes, feeling completely betrayed. Zoro, picking up on this, smiled sadly and patted Sanji's head, then turned to leave for a full day of work. _'But what if he does remember.' _Robin thought, placing her chin on her paws and sighing thoughtfully.

Zoro raced off to work. He always had to leave early because the building never seemed to be in the same place so he had to allow extra time to find it. Once he finally found his building, he went up to the door and showed his ID to the person at the door before entering.

"Welcome back, Roronoa-kun." The young secretary greeted from behind her giant desk.

"Thank you Namahara-san." Zoro was about to ask her a question when he was attacked from behind, his ribs being crushed and the wind getting knocked out of him.

"I missed you." The attacker released his prey only to recapture it from the front. The slightly larger man placed his hands on Zoro's shoulders and placed a small kiss on his brow.

"Ben!"

**Author's Note**

Bring in the OC!

WHOOHOO! FINALLY! It's "only" been a couple months since I updated, but MAN it feels good to be back! Now that I've gotten back in the swing of things, you'll be sure to see a lot more from me! Hooray! I promise that updates will become more regular and chapters will be longer! Thank you sooo much for sticking with this story and more importantly, being patient with me.

Love you all!

-PD


	4. Not So Fast, Buddy

Yes. When I said I'd be better with updating and wouldn't have these long delays I was actually lying. It's been about half a year since I last updated. Not something I'm proud of. Sorry for making you guys wait again!

Oh, and I changed Kinjo's name to Ben. I didn't like Kinjo anymore. It sounded too stringy. Plus I like to keep my OC's names the same. I intend to write another story with Ben in it, but we'll get to that once I've completed my other stories first.

-PD

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Not So Fast, Buddy**

Sanji sat silently in front of a napping Robin. She had been teaching him how to talk that morning after Zoro had left, but he still had questions he wanted to ask: about himself, about the others, and about his master. But there was a thought in the back of his mind preventing him from waking her. It was telling him that no one should EVER disturb a lady while she slept. Sanji sighed and lay his head down on his paws.

Robin cracked an eye open, gracing the startled kitten with a smile. "Can I help you, Kitten-san?"

"Myah! S-Sorry." Sanji stood up and bowed towards the older cat in apology. "I woke you!"

"That's alright, Kitten-san. What do you need?"

"Um...my head....inside..what is...I don't know..." Sanji couldn't find a way to express the flashback he'd had while he was in the shower with Zoro. It was like a memory he couldn't remember actually happening, like an eerily realistic dream.

Robin lay her head back down and gave a thoughtful sigh. "I don't know kitten-san. What do you remember?"

Sanji thought back. He didn't remember much; it was as if his life had started but 2 days ago, the day before his master had found him.

o()o()o

_Sanji cracked open his eyes. He could feel blood trickle down the side of his head and though his whiskers. 'Why would someone do this? What have I done?' Those were the feelings Sanji could remember having as he looked up at a blurry shadow of a man and the faint echo of his voice. _

"_Hn, al..oh....ini..."_

'Wha..?'_ Sanji heard the crunch of shoes walking through gravel as the man walked away from him. _'What just happened? How did I get here? Who? Why? When?' _Sanji's nose twitched at the delicious smell of food lingering in the air and his stomach twisted with longing, if only he could move..._

_A big man suddenly threw the door open._

(Sanji remembered now that _that_ had been the man he'd dreamt about, the one with the big hand that had pulled him away by the neck from his master. He could never forget that mustache_._)

_He tried to call out to (or meow rather) the man; maybe he'd take him inside and feed him._

_The man didn't notice him and just proceeded to stand in the doorway, as if he was looking for someone. The big man went back inside and Sanji was left alone on the street. _

_He lay there for an entire day until someone finally took notice of the tiny bundle. _

_He couldn't see the face, but he felt big, warm hands pick him up and gently brush things Sanji couldn't see out of his fur. The man said nothing, but placed him in the opening of his coat where it was nice and warm. The next thing he knew, he was inside his master's house._

o()o()o

Sanji had expressed this as best as he could with his limited vocabulary. It was a little hard to understand, but Robin seemed to get the gist of things. She closed her eyes and hummed softly in thought. Sanji waited to hear her say something, give him s pearl of her wisdom, but she had fallen asleep during her musings.

'_I can ask her later.'_ He thought as he began to wander aimlessly around the room, (im)patiently awaiting Zoro's return.

"Oi, Sanji!" He looked up at the hamster whose tiny paws were wrapped around the bars of his cage. Usopp had never thought of his cage as, well, a _cage_, but as a shield to protect him from the lab puppy who'd "accidentally" almost eaten him when his hunger got out of control, which was all too often for the nervous creature's fragile heart to handle.

I digress.

Sanji hopped and pulled his furry little body up onto the table where Usopp was kept. He was getting better at this whole climbing thing.

"I can tell you a couple stories if you want." He said with an overly confident smile.

Sanji looked at him doubtingly, but settled down regardless.

"Let's see...all I can really tell you about are my experiences in the house and the week before Zoro found me. I don't—"

The lock of the front door clicked open and the sound of shoes dropping onto the floor made Sanji's ears prick up. "I'm home!"

Sanji almost threw himself off the table in his excitement, but caught himself just in time, and settled for meowing perkily. Zoro walked into the living room and smiled at all of his happy and eager pets.

"Hey guys. Guess who's here with me?" Zoro asked happily as he squatted in front of Luffy, scratching him behind the ears.

Luffy blurted out crazy and wild ideas; Usopp and Chopper joined him with who they hoped had come to visit. Zoro shook his head at the string of incorrect assumptions.

"Zoro?" An accent-laden voice called from around the corner.

"In here."

A man, who was a good couple inches taller than Zoro, walked into the room. When Sanji saw Luffy and Chopper bristle their fur and ruffle their feathers, he did the same without thinking twice. This _must_ have been the man they'd been referring to earlier. He had dark hair that appeared to be black, but when the light caught it, it had beautiful indigo-blue highlights. It fell just above his eyes and tickled the back of his tan neck and mostly covered his ears. He had big, silvery-green eyes that expression his emotions more than words every could.

'_Those green eyes are calculating, like a snake's.'_ Sanji thought. He knew that two of these guys didn't like him, and that was enough for Sanji to hate him as well. Zoro walked over to the ruffled cat and picked him up, smoothing down the puffed up fur, much to Sanji's distaste. He'd worked hard at puffing up his fur and making himself look intimidating.

Sanji looked up at Ben and glared as hard as he could, trying to send the waves of hate fe inexplicably felt straight through the man's eyes and into his heart. He hissed, showing off his little, pearly-white fangs. Ben looked surprised at the cat's unexpected hostility and Sanji smirked with satisfaction, but received a bop on the head for his actions.

"Sanji, what's the matter with you?" Zoro asked, confused with the kitten's unwelcoming behavior.

Sanji looked up at Zoro with anger tinted hurt in his eyes. He'd simply been trying to defend what was rightfully his.

"This is Sanji?" The question held no hostility or anything negative, just mild surprise; maybe a hint of disappointment.

"Yeah, he's...the jealous and...defensive type." Sanji was placed on the floor. "I'll start putting food together, you can set up the stuff on the coffee table."

Ben nodded with a smile and sat down on the couch. Nami hopped up next to the visitor and wagged her little tail, earning a smile and a gentle pat on the head. Robin had also awoken and went to sniff at Ben's pant leg in greeting.

"Nami! What are you _doing!"_ Luffy growled from the floor. "Get away from him! He's evil!"

"Robin~" Chopper worriedly warbled, "Don't get to close!"

"Oh, Luffy," Nami scolded, pulling away from Ben to glare down at Luffy. "I've already told you! Don't You listen! He's not—"

"Guys! Behave!" Zoro called from the kitchen. There was a pained hiss, a clatter, and a low cuss before things became awkwardly silent in the living room. Ben couldn't understand what the pets had been saying to each other, but that didn't mean he couldn't feel the heated gaze from the dog on the floor and the bird in the cage. And he certainly couldn't ignore the angry glare and irritated twitching of a tail from the end table by the fireplace. Ben tried his best to patiently wait for Zoro to return as if the pets weren't there and started pulling out the laptop and several files from his bag.

The 45 minutes Zoro spent to prepare a simple meal for the pets and for him and Ben seemed to last forever. It was like the end of an exhausting race when Zoro called, "Dinner!"

Luffy forgot all about the man he hated and bolted into the kitchen. Nami and Robin followed, contentedly talking amongst themselves. Sanji was the last to leave. He never took his eyes off Ben as he hopped down from the table and slowly walked into the kitchen. When Zoro came back out with two steaming bowls, Ben was able to at least partially forget the pets' hate filled stares.

"Zoro, your pets give me not good feelings." He muttered as he gingerly took the bowl before quickly setting it down on the table. It was much too hot for bare hands, no matter how tough or practiced they were.

"Sorry 'bout that."

"For which are you sorry?" Ben asked with a smirk.

"The pets. I'm no longer sorry about burning your fingers." Now copying Ben's cocky smile, Zoro turned around to sit next to him on the couch, but his course was altered when a pair of big hands pulled him over by the hips. He turned to scowl at the man whose lap he was pulled into, but the frown dissipated when he saw Ben's smiling face, no longer smirking, come to rest on his shoulder. He felt the warmth of Ben's hands on his waist and he had to bite his lip to keep from smiling back. Zoro leaned forward to grab a couple files before leaning sideways to rest against Ben's chest. "Idiot."

"Non posso aiutarlo. Ti amo."

Zoro blushed at the familiar phrase. He'd heard Ben say it several times, and it never failed to make a tingle run up and down his spine. "You know I don't understand Italian, baka." _'Well, not most of it.'_

Ben just smiled and proceeded to kiss Zoro's neck as the man he was flustering tried to get to work.

o()o()o

Sanji was not happy. He was not happy at all. He was licking his whiskers clean of food while he listened to Zoro and that _boyfriend_ of his converse. He left the kitchen and poked half of his head around the corner, looking into the living room. Zoro was sitting sideways in Ben's lap with an open file draped across his thighs so they could both read it over. They would mumble things from time to time, Sanji couldn't quite make out what they were talking about. He sat there for a good 5 minutes, watching, waiting for Ben to slip up. He was about to give up and return to Robin, when he saw Ben's hand start to stroke Zoro's side.

Sanji bristled.

Zoro closed the file and sighed before looking up at Ben, mumbling something. Ben had this look of 'I'm sorry' and gently placed several kisses along the side of Zoro's face before kissing the bridge of his nose and then eventually his lips.

Sanji's eyes widened. The image before him disappeared. Ben and Zoro were no longer there. It was the same living room, but everything was bright with daylight, but the image itself was fuzzy. It was a short clip of a man and Zoro. He couldn't identify the other man because a glare of sorts obscured the face. They were sitting on the couch, and Zoro was between the man's legs. He had his head against the man's shoulder and his back to the man's chest and they seemed to be enjoying one another's company.

'_I wish I didn't have to work so much.' _The obscured baritone whispered. Sanji couldn't understand the tone he used_,_ but there was something that seemed almost a little fake, but that could've easily been the jealousy speaking._  
_

Sanji didn't get to hear the Zoro's response to the statement nor the man's reason behind voicing it in the first place, because the image suddenly disappeared. He suddenly didn't care about Ben anymore, but he worried more about the sad, contemplative look that Zoro had been wearing before the image disappeared.

Sanji stepped fully into the room and meowed gently to announce his presence. He looked neither ashamed nor proud of his earlier actions, but calmly walked up to Ben's leg and sniffed at the pant leg, much like Robin had done earlier.

'_I don't sense anything evil about this man, why do the others hate him so much?'_

He looked up at Ben and squinted his eyes, trying to figure out everything that was going on about him_._

"Sanji," Zoro said, "you're not allowed to be in here while I'm working. Go hang out with the other pets, ok?"

Sanji's body was on auto pilot and just listened to Zoro without thinking about it. Thoughts ran through the kitten's mind in those few short seconds it took for him to return to the kitchen, but there was one that stuck with him more than the others.

_'Why do **I** hate him so much?'

* * *

_

**Author's Note**

Ooohhhh myyyy gooooddddd

This chapter gave me a lot of trouble. I started it like a good 6 or 7 times, but none of them felt right. I don't even know if this one feels totally right. Oh well. At least I'm getting somewhere.

And in case you missed or skipped the note at the top, I changes Kinjo or whatever his name was to Ben. Why? I like it better. Simple as that.

What Ben says basically translates to: "I cannot help it. I love you." And yes, he's from Italy :D because A) I want to go there, and B) I love accents~ and C)...well, I've thought of a 'C' but that's a spoiler for another story ;P

Aaaaaaaanyway...

**I'LL BE GONE FOR 2 WEEKS!**

So no updates for a while. haha like I've ever gotten two updates done within two weeks. (well, not recently anyway v.v)...wait....I TOTALLY JUST DID! I updated Just 30 Days exactly 1 week before today! YAY!

THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR STICKING WITH ME!

-The undeserving of your alerts and reviews, PD.


	5. Break Through

Look out for bad language.

-PD

* * *

**Chapter 5 - Break Through**

Sanji had pretty much realized that Ben was here to stay, and that there was next to nothing he could do about it. Deciding that he no longer wanted to stick around to watch Ben and Zoro interact, he felt that taking a nice after-dinner nap would be a good idea. He had found and fallen asleep inside a comfortable niche that was next to the still pleasantly warm oven. He only awoke when the closing of a door could be heard. Lazily crawling out from his comfy napping spot, Sanji stretched and yawned. He looked at the others who had formed a semi-circle around Zoro. He was squatting down in front of them, looking incredibly despondent.

"Sorry guys. We didn't get any further today." His voice was apologetic, but his voice was steady and unwavering. He'd probably delivered this speech several times.

All of their ears drooped. They were almost expecting to hear the disappointing news of the constant dead ends by now, but that didn't mean it hurt any less when they had to hear that Zoro and the others were no closer to finding a solution.

"Well if you wouldn't flirt with Ben the whole time then maybe you'd get something done! DO you really want to help us, Zoro? We're your _best friends_, Zoro, and you don't seem to give a shit that we're like this!" Nami barked, her anger dripping off her tongue with astounding ease.

"Nami!"

"Nami-chan!"

"How could you say that, Nami?" Luffy asked, all seriousness clouded over his normally humor filled eyes as he looked at the gingery pup, only hurt and disappointment filled them now. "How could you ever lose trust in your Nakama?"

Zoro was also hurt and angered by what she said, and he tried not to show it. It had truth to it, as there were those one in a hundred times that he and Ben didn't put in 100 percent, but it was certainly not usually the case. Their information just wasn't sufficient and every lead they thought they had was just another red herring. "We've been working to find out who did this, Nami. It's just going to take a little more time"

"But how much more time will it take, Zoro? I'm _tired_ of being like this! I want to go back to normal!" Nami had tears in her eyes. She was just at the end of her rope, she hadn't meant to lash out at Zoro, nor accuse him of anything. But she didn't have anyone else to blame at the moment and just wanted someone to yell at, someone she could let her frustrations out on. She knew it wasn't fair at the moment, but it was all so frustrating.

"Look, I'm trying. If you guys could recall anything about what happened then we'd be getting somewhere, but until then it's going to be next to impossible to get anywhere."

"We've told you, Zoro. None of us saw him! We've all got our memories back, save for Sanji-kun, but he's still just recovering."

Zoro sighed and furrowed his brow, looking as if he had something more to say, but was debating whether or not he should say anything or not. He decided against it and straightened up. "That's true. Maybe once he gets his mind in order he'll be able to tell us something." They all looked at Sanji, hoping that maybe there was a chance that he could remember something of what'd happened to him. But he just stared back, as clueless about his situation, if not more so, than they were. Zoro bent down and looked into Sanji's eyes. "Sanji, can you remember _anything_ before Ben found you?"

'_Ben found me?'_ Sanji stared into those honey brown eyes and desperately tried to recall something, _anything_, that could help him.

Zoro sighed again. "I guess you just don't understand. Forget it." There! There it was! Another memory was stirred from the deep dark recesses of his mind.

"_You don't understand! Forget it!" _Zoro was angry. He was shouting and a lithe man with blonde hair, Sanji remembered that he had looked like that in the dream he'd had. Why was Zoro yelling at him? What had him looking so angry, confused, hurt?

"_How can I forget it! Don't be ridiculous!" _Ah, that was his voice...at least...he was pretty sure it was. But he wasn't a human so that didn't make any sense...

"_I'm not the one being ridiculous! You're the one who's flipping a shit over something that wasn't my fault!_

Sanji was slowly pulled deeper and deeper into the flashback, no longer seeing a worried Zoro in front of his eyes. He was transported to a room, the living room in this very house, but at a different point in time. He watched as the flashback became more and more vivid, until he became a part of it himself.

**o()o()o**

"Would you just _listen_ for one damned minute! I'm telling you what that was...it was nothing!"

"Don't feed me that shit, Zoro. Don't think that I'm _that_ fuckin stupid." Sanji was pointing an accusing finger at the green haired man. "I can't _believe_ you would go behind me like that and do something like that. How the _hell_ have I managed to stay with you this long?"

"Sanji! For the _LAST TIME_ it's not **like** that! I don't think of him that way! I never will! Why can't you get that through your thick skull!"

"Then why were your hands all over him? Huh?" Sanji screamed in his face.

"_His_ hands were all over _me!"_

"Oh, so you just _let_ him do that stuff to you? Is _that_ it?"

"NO!"

Sanji felt like his body and his mouth were completely out of his control. Like he was watching a movie from the perspective of one of the actors. He wanted to stop yelling. He wanted the heat of uncontrollable rage to go away and to hold the man in front of him that looked like he was about ready to cry. But the feelings that the body he was inside didn't agree with that. The blonde-haired man in the flashback was pissed beyond reason. And the more Sanji sat there, watching the scene unfold, things were beginning to click back into place. _'This...this is_ me!' Sanji realized...that he had done this! This had really happened! He had actually said all those awful things that were tumbling from spit coated lips so easily now. He felt wretched, but he still didn't know what it was that Zoro had done to make him so mad! Sanji remembered that Zoro had called him 'jealous' when he'd been introduced to Ben. No wonder.

"If you don't believe me, then what the hell are you still here for? If I'm a fuckin 'cheater' then why don't you just leave!"

Sanji's glare became deathly intense. "Fine. I will." Sanji felt shiver's run down his spine at the coldness of the body's tone. He wanted to make his body stay, but the body turned and stormed out of the house, not even bothering to slam the door on a horribly distressed Zoro.

The flashback fast-forwarded to about 3 months later, and he had gone out into the alley behind the Baratie for a quick smoke. A figure caught his attention and he looked down the alleyway and saw a man that had been the cause of the last several months of his emotional hell. "What the hell are you doing here, bastard."

The man glared at him. "Making sure that no one he loves will ever be able to hurt him again."

**o()o()o**

Zoro sighed, there wasn't going to be any development for a while. "Well, I'm going to go upstairs and prepare for bed. I'll be back down in a little while. Zoro left the kitchen and turned down the hall towards the stairs. Sanji awoke from his trance and saw that Zoro had gone. He bolted out of the room, apologizing to the crabby Yorkie that he'd almost trampled, and chased after Zoro, mewling excitedly as he clamored up the huge steps after his...what was Zoro to him, now? Master? Savior? Friend? Ex-lover? Enemy? He hated the thought of the last possibility. When he reached the top he began to scratch at Zoro's door, begging to be allowed inside.

Zoro opened the door, wearing only a wife beater and boxers. "What is it, Sanji?"

Sanji looked up into Zoro's tired and vividly remembered the flash back he'd had but moments ago. "Zoro." He said, with astonishing clarity that had immediately caught Zoro's attention. He watched Zoro's eyes widen as he spoke. "I'm sorry."

* * *

**Author's Note**

This seems to be like a tri-annual update. Let's try and improve that, shall we?

Urgh, I can already feel that this story is gonna get reeeal long. *sigh*

I really didn't feel like making this chapter any longer. Sorry guys.

-PD


	6. good bye, fanfiction

Hey Everyone,

As some of you have the displeasure of experiencing first hand, FF has gotten really gung-ho about getting rid of everything that doesn't fall within the guidelines. I've been irritated with this site for a while now, and my story:

"Get Them Off Me"

Was deleted this morning for having "bitches" in the summary.

Now, for all of you, take this as a warning. Protect your babies! Don't let the mean old admins take them away! XC

I'll be posting my fics on deviant art (brattyangel117, don't judge, its from middle school) and archive of our own (princess_darkcloud), plus I'm working on my own, personal site where I'll post original fiction as well. I'll leave links on my profile. I'm sorry that this has to happen, and no, it's not another April fools joke, I'm afraid.

**YOU HAVE UNTIL NEXT SATURDAY THE 13TH TO ENJOY MY FICS. AFTER THAT, THEY ALL GO, AND I'LL SAY GOODBYE TO POSTING ON FANFICTION.**

I might leave a comment here or there on other people's fics, but I'm not letting the fucking admins take my stories away from me.

I love you all, and I hope to see you guys again in the future.

Much love to all my darlings,

PD

P.S. I can only post this message on this account for the time being because my other account got suspended until the first = ^ =


	7. ON SECOND THOUGHT

Hey Everyone,

ON SECOND THOUGHT:

My quitting is just as hasty as the way they're deleting stories. With the petitions going up, I'm going to stick around for a little while longer and see if things actually change.

I'll be posting my fics on deviant art (brattyangel117, don't judge, its from middle school) and archive of our own (princess_darkcloud), plus I'm working on my own, personal site where I'll post original fiction as well. I'll leave links on my profile. I'm sorry that this has to happen, and no, it's not another April fools joke, I'm afraid.

-PD


End file.
